GIFFITH, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 02/18/13 -- The Madawaska Highlands Observatory has designed an extremely high performance ultra-wide field telescope for under $2M (CAN) and urges the Canadian Government to assist in funding the telescope. After a 17m meteor exploded over Russia, with an explosive force of 500,000 tons and injuring over 1,200 people, now is the time for Canada to make a significant contribution to help locate these deadly objects.

The facility would be located in Renfrew County, 120 Km west of Ottawa as the crow flies, and situated under extremely dark night skies where the Milky Way casts a shadow, indeed the best place in Canada to locate such a powerful telescope. The 1-meter telescope would have a field-of-view of 26 full moons and be situated on a 450 metre hill in the Madawaska Highlands. It would be the most powerful telescope in Canada by a wide margin and extremely good at finding these deadly meteors.

The facility could be fully operational in 2.5 years and designed to be financially fully sustainable (generating significant cash flows) with a world-class Visitors Centre, a 25-room 4.5(i) hotel and extremely large 30" and 40" telescopes for visitors. The premier facility would attract guests from all over the world, would create some 100 jobs and be a huge tourist attraction for the region. The entire facility is designed to be off-grid and energy independent - unique in the world.

For more information please contact the CEO, Frank Roy at mho@madawaskahighlandsobservatory.com